Table of Contents
Pakistan cricket went into an abyss when the Lord's Test ended in a 194-run defeat to England, after a heavy defeat in Leeds. Following two consecutive defeats in England, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), in a major step, snubbed seven cricketers from its Test team, along with head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and assistant coach Umar Gul.
Former South African keeper-batter AB de Villiers is one of the recent voices who were not pleased with the impulsive decision taken by the PCB. The former all-format player of the South Africa National Cricket Team mentioned in his recent comments that the slide of the Men in Green was because they failed to show enough character during the Test matches against England.
Test cricket is a test of your character: AB de Villiers
Whether in Leeds or London, Pakistan could not score at least 200 runs in any of their innings in two Tests. AB de Villiers observed a lack of fighting spirit and the character that was required to earn good results from the Tests. To put the team on the right line, the team required leaders who could motivate the others in the team to perform their best under any circumstances across any formats of the game.
“I always felt that Test cricket is a test of your character. And that’s maybe what Pakistan is lacking at the moment: a bit of character, a bit of fight, and an individual leadership group of four or five players who decide together, “You know what? Let’s be the leaders here and show the guys. Let’s be the example. Let’s show the youngsters what it takes to win Test matches, or ODIs, or T20s,” De Villiers said on his YouTube channel.
AB de Villiers accuses Pakistan Cricket Board of poor management
Highlighting the recent chopping and changing inside the team, Villiers raised questions about the team management as well. Because of the massive shuffle, it separates the team from being a well-set unit.
“And maybe that is the area that they’re lacking. But definitely also a bit of mismanagement from the top, lots of chopping, changing, lots of change of leadership," Villiers said in the same video.
AB de Villiers urges PCB to support captain Babar Azam
Ending the era of Shan Masood, the Pakistan Cricket Board retained their star batter, Babar Azam, again as their captain of the Test team. The former cricketer suggested that the cricket board give Babar a significant amount of time to work with the team as the captain. Additionally, the former cricketer wished to see Babar Azam performing according to his actual potential donning the captain's armband.
"Babar (Azam) is back now, so hopefully he gets an extended run and stays fit and starts scoring runs again, like we all know he can, and for his fellow teammates to start following that lead,” AB de Villiers expressed.
Pakistan is yet to play another Test match against England, which is scheduled to start in Birmingham on September 9.
